"It's.....good, but certainly not perfect!"

I may be the only one who feels this way, but I was kind of disappointed with Final Fantasy 7. It just doesn't have the feel of previous Square masterpieces, period. Sure, it succeeds on many technical levels. The graphics, while sometimes hampering exploration because they are so flashy, are top notch and seamlessly stream into FMV (another great selling point). The music is vintage Square with catchy tunes that draw you into the environment. The battle system is generally good, too. I think more than 3 characters should fight at one time in normal battles (remember when FF2 introduced groups of five?) Also, I think that the summon spell animations, while breathtakingly rendered, are tedious after the first viewing (Kinghts of ther Round is the biggest offender). The characters themselves are memorable, but they are harldy different from each other ability-wise (it all depends on Materia, leaving characters seeming a bit two-dimesional). Even the storyline has its charms. The broad plot of the search for Sephiroth is interesting and the side quests and extras are certainly above average for most RPGs. But is this a truly great RPG? No, and I'll tell you why. It doesn't...steal away your life for any reason other than the fact that it's a Final Fantasy game. The desire to complete the game (a must for a great RPG) wears a little thin after time and the game just became tedious and redundant. Chocobo racing is a perfect example: a great idea, but you must do it so many times in order to master it that it becomes frustratingly boring. It lags in ways that its predecessors never did. This keeps FF7 from greatness. It is by no means a bad game, but beneath its flash and commercial success, there isn't enough there to grip the player who is looking for a great new experience (for a mind-blowing RPG, try Suikoden).